Fielder Says He Feels Good

Prince Fielder has to have a good season this year in order for the Texas Rangers to bounce back from their disastrous 2014 campaign which saw them lose nearly 100 games and their manager.

Fielder played in just more than 40 games and hasn't stood in a batter's box in a game since May 16, which was his final game of 2014 before going on the disabled list and ultimately undergoing cervical fusion surgery in his neck.

Now, the Rangers need the Prince Fielder back that can slug 30 homers and drive in 100 runs, and they need him desperately.

"It's fine, you don't lose your swing," Fielder told MLB.com. "You don't forget how to play. I just want to square up a few balls. You do that one time and things will start feeling good."

Hitting coach Dave Magadan said he sees progress from Fielder, but that the veteran just needs to work on regaining his timing, and understandably so considering it's been nine months since he's faced big-league pitching.

"He's doing OK," Magadan said. "He's a typical veteran player who is just trying to get his timing. We are trying to solidify some of the stuff we talked about in the offseason. Last year he was crashing into the ball, now we're getting him to hold his ground. Timing is huge. With him it's going as well as expected. Once he gets into the flow of games and gets his timing down, everybody will see a big difference."

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